Category: colombia

Inclusion is a key process for sustaining, developing, and building democratic societies. Crossing multiple social dimensions, inclusion helps to ensure equal opportunities for participation and access to markets, services, and spaces. At its core, inclusion is about “improving the terms for individuals and groups to take part in society” (World Bank, 2013). Inclusion matters because […]

The peace negotiations between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC–EP) and the Colombian government ended on an agreement last August 24, 2016. After four years of peace talks and working meetings, and despite the disbelief of a large sector of Colombian public opinion and the opposition of right wing political parties, a deal […]

Stories of ghosts and appearances of the dead are common in Cartagena de Indias. Virgins, pirates, saints, and deceased international personalities have appeared on walls, basements, alleys, and other public and private spaces of the city since colonial times. In June of 2009 I was shocked by the news about the apparition of phantom of […]

Next to the the foot of La Popa hill and close to the Cienaga Las Quintas, there is Bazurto, the central market of Cartagena de Indias. Known by its giant size, Bazurto is a complex urban zone, mix of make-shift stands, mobile stores, and commerce buildings. The area serves as a hub for multiple markets, […]

An inspiring week of workshops, panels, installations, round-tables, concerts, and other creative and intellectual exchanges took place at Manizales, Colombia, one week ago, from June 11 to 18. The International Symposium on Electronic Arts (ISEA) and the International Image Festival joined forces to convene an interdisciplinary group of designers, scientists, artists, and humanists from different […]

In recent years, building a historical memory that is plural and inclusive has become one of the main strategies for finishing the long armed conflict in Colombia. Peace building endeavors have tried to promote a new narrative of the conflict that brings the victims of war to the foreground, makes visible their stories, dignifies them, […]

Although the visual documentation of violence at the frontlines has existed since World War II with the photographs took by the Nazis in the 20st Century, the circulation of these records was restricted to the military and curated by governmental institutions and the mainstream media as part of a propaganda strategy. In the 21st Century […]